CERTs 2009 | Affordable Housing & Energy Assistance Go Green
Session Audio
Moderator Introduction
Joel Haskard, CERTs Coordinator, U of M Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships: Joel Haskard is the Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) co-coordinator for the University of Minnesota’s Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships program. Joel has over eleven years experience coordinating and managing community and economic development activities in the U.S. and abroad. He is also a founding board member of the Phillips Community Energy Co-op, an organization increasing energy-conservation services in south Minneapolis; since 1994, co-op members have saved over $168,000 on their electric bills.
Minnesota Green Communities
Janne Flisrand, Program Coordinator, Minnesota Green Communities: Janne Flisrand, Program Coordinator for Minnesota Green Communities. Janne Flisrand, Minnesota Green Communities’ program coordinator, has worked in program management for nine years. Having worked in a variety of community-based settings, she is experienced in facilitating collaborations among diverse organizations. Ms. Flisrand has a master’s degree in applied urban anthropology, and has worked in the field of affordable housing and community planning since 1999 in positions ranging from housing development intern to policy research. In this work, she has often created a bridge to her personal interest in public transportation in communities, the health of the environment, and all aspects of environmentalism. Ms. Flisrand joined the Minnesota Green Communities effort in March of 2005 to provide support for this initiative. Her publications include a policy evaluation of Affordable Housing Tax Credits for Housing Minnesota and LISC and a Development Handbook for Neighborhoods with the Center for Neighborhoods. She also served as the Director of Operations of the Hawthorne Area Community Council (HACC), a neighborhood revitalization program located in North Minneapolis. In her spare time, she writes for the Marketplace Money Greenwash Brigade blog.
Otter Tail Wadena Community Action Council
Davis Leino-Mills, Agency Director, Otter Tail-Wadena Community Action Council: For the past ten years Davis has been the Executive Director of the Otter Tail-Wadena Community Action Agency and has worked hard with his Weatherization Director to expand the Weatherization program to include solar heat options for our clients resulting in the George and Irene Walter Solar Heating Collector Project.
Steve Connell, Weatherization Director, Otter Tail-Wadena Community Action Council: Steve has been the Otter Tail-Wadena Community Action Council Weatherization Director for the past four years and prior to that he was a residential energy auditor for the agency. Steve has for many years been very interested in green environmental practices and has looked for opportunities to incorporate them into our weatherization program, starting with solar water heaters and now solar heating panels.
Rural Renewable Energy Alliance
Jason Edens, Director, Rural Renewable Energy Alliance: My interest in energy policy began while living for three years in Japan, where I encountered many communities harvesting the energy of the sun for heating and power. Before leaving Japan, several friends and I organized a bicycling campaign to raise awareness about energy and international environmental issues. The cycling trip was called BEE (Bicycling for Everyone’s Earth), and we rode our bikes from the northern tip of Japan to the southern island of Kyushu. We were able to reach scores of Japanese schools, town halls, and civic groups. And the cycling campaign has become an annual event with Japanese and foreign riders traversing the country every summer to discuss environmental issues with the Japanese community. Some years later, while going to graduate school on a shoestring, I sought out some eco-friendly ways to provide household heat during the cold Minnesota weather. I wanted to do so using solar, but the cost was prohibitive. Serendipitously, I caught word of someone throwing away a solar heating system because the new tenants considered it unsightly! I was there to catch it before it hit the ground and created a solar heating system for a fraction of the commercial cost. The next logical question was, why can’t we do this for other low-income families like mine? And RREAL was born.
Clean Energy Resource Teams